Chapter Text
Rumor has it that the Himuras had lost their heir to an accident.
On a snowy day 16 years ago, he burned himself to ashes in the mountains of hvíta fegurð , leaving the nobles in shambles, and breaking his mother’s last string of sanity.
“His flames were beautiful. Pity that his body was just not made to withstand his magic.”
Kirishima shifts in his horse, all in vain as he is unable to find a position that would avoid getting his balls squished. He still doesn’t know how warriors from the South had babies after this assault. He would be lucky if his were intact by the end of this trip.
“But he knew that, his limits I mean. What in the world was he thinkin? Where was the king?”
Present mic responds, “Well from what I’ve been told, he was trying to show a new creation of some sorts to the king. The king couldn’t make it, why? Council meeting? I can’t recall. But the prince was a troublesome lad, like who in their right mind would try to burn a dried forest a-”
“What about his family?” asked the blonde thunder tamer from behind.
“Oh yeah the queen went fucking bonkers and melted the youngest prince’s face.”
The rest of the bunch let out shocked gasps, except for Bakugou Katsuki who just looked mildly disturbed.
“sheesh…”
“yeah.. it was very apparent that the crown prince hated the youngest. There were tantrums here and there. You know, how once you have a younger sibling and you feel as if that shit has the world under his feet, all the attention in the world to him. But usually, people grow out of it, I guess the first prince was just not as mature.”
“All of them are spoiled and entitled war mongrels. Prissy pouty princess... all because daddy dearest won’t look at my shitty moves” Bakugou mockingly made his squeaky voice.
“Good gods stop Kats”
Kirishima huffed, unsettled, “But there must be more to it. I mean it’s a freaking prince. And he kills himself at dawn, and no one bats an eye?” his tone is somber. Back home everyone looked after one other.
“Like I said Kirishima, It was the biggest blunder of the decade for that kingdom. And a mystery too! Things just don’t add up well and I don’t think he tried to kill himself. They say the servants heard his screams. He was screaming for help. Butttt they were too late. Gia panta arga afta hvitas…” Present Mic tuts in pity, letting his native accent loose.
(forever late those Hvitas)
“did they see him burn himself? Why did no one try to stop him..”
“God knows kiddo, it’s not as if I was there or anything” Hizashi huffed, directing the horse through the narrow roads. The hill was rocky and had underdeveloped roads. They were nearing the mountains as the road grew more inclined. “Optimal attention to surrounding” Hizashi chanted in his head and to his party.
“You must know more Mister Mic, aren’t you from Hvíta fegurð?”
“Nah, I just lived there for a couple of years,”
One of the horses neighed sharply as it almost slipped into the rocky mess, and Denki let out a yelp.
“Careful with the bridge, it’s fucking older than the trees.” Bakugou cursed as the bridge under him creaked under his weight.
The group had been traveling for the past 4 days by the orders of former chieftain Mitsuki. They were invited to the wedding of Todoroku Fuyumi: The crown princess of The Northern Mountains.
The invite itself was jarring considering the fact that relations between the hvíta fegurð and barbarian had been tense for the past decade.
Katsuki had an iffy feeling about this whole invite. He knew that Enji wanted something from him. Well.. it’s good for them cause Katsuki also wanted something from him.
Something that the great Bakugou Murder bomb, slayer of 800 goblins of Nerre, the conqueror of the South coast and terrain, the very talented and cunning man, could not have on his own.
There were plenty rivers and lakes in the Söder (south), but quite few were poisoned with blood of all for one. Recently a deadly epidemic had begun in the coasts: all because Enji abandoned his village (an port named endeavor ironically), allowing for the monsters in Endeavor area to double and the poisoning was worsened. What is worst is that even after killing all the monster in the area the poisoning could only be dealt by high level priests.
And that bull for brains man, didn’t allow for Himura’s to even enter Söder. Katsuki couldn’t believe he used to look up to Enji.
His people are dying and he does nothing.
The only people who could purify poison like that would be the Elves and the ones with awakened Himura blood.
Dealing with the elves will be as productive as a one-legged man at an arse-kicking contest. No arses will be kicked and the one remaining leg may also give in. So the only choice remains to be the Himuras. They are in much better terms with the Barbarians than the elves at least.
“Oh gods above, just give me the patience to not spit in that dog shit King’s face if he babblers some bullshit.” Katsuki prayed to gods.
“OKAYYY… So where was I… oh yeah The Queen, yes her majesty, Himura Rei was the 41th ruler of Hvíta fegurð. She was crowned when her father passed during the war of the century. She was young, but she was wise. She was a good priest, and under her ruler the mountains grew richer as the queen racked deals worth thousands.
She wasn’t the best fighter though, wait scratch that she was descent- she just didn’t have that cruelness in her which is a fatal flaw in a ruler. She made sure no one would consider her home to be defenseless or anything.
So she married Enji Todoroki: One of the most powerful warrior of Söder. She fell in love with his commanding presence and viola.. they have like 5, wait no…. 4 children. The eldest dies, mommy goes coo-coo crazy, baam the youngest is now the main priest at 6.” Mic sing-tells information about the Himuras.
“How many times do we have to listen to this” Denki asked his two peers, suppressing a yawn. Kirishima smiled with his big sharp teeth, “I don’t know man. But at least it has drama n romance, sappy shit that won’t keep us bored. Plus I like when he sings like that.”
A long screech breaks the peace, and a large Ogre smashes into a carriage that was traveling a mile ahead them. Katsuki had never seen a troll as white and as fat.
“Really the mountains are magical, you don’t get to see that every day.” Present mic warns the other before screaming his magic at the damning beast. The sonic wave pushes the troll off the carriage into a dent in the mountain.
“Careful! These are not normal Ogre, they have great self-healing capacities”
Mic had to minimize the attack to avoid harming the people in the carriage, so the monster bounced back after only a couple of seconds. All wounds healed, it turned its focus on the barbarians, and stomped towards them.
“Kiri, be a dear and help those people down to the foothill. Take both of-”
Present mic is cut off when a cloak covers his face.
A deafening blast rumbles the ground as Katsuki lets his magic free, sparks fly as he soars through the sky. High up in the air, he summons his large sword- it is width is half his width.
“My ass was sore waiting for bitches like you.”
The Ogre let out a roar, and swung it’s cub at Katsuki. But it had no chance.
When the giant sword so much as touched the monster, it burst into nothing but blood and gore. It rained blood and innards around them.
Katsuki lands swiftly on his legs, “so that was the infamous northern troll.”
"It was a ogre." "oh shut up Denki."
Denki looks disgusted at the blood covering his shoes and cloak, “You could hold back a little you know.”
The passage in the carriage below look terrified and relieved at the same time, which Kiri finds a tiny bit funny.
Bakugou swipes his sword, in one motion, the gunk flies off the long weapon.
This was gonna be a very long trip.
They part with the carriage after half an hour. Before they leave, as appreciation for protecting them, the group gives Katsuki a new vest. He turns it down, explaining that he’s fine-bearing naked chest and he still has his cloak. But they insist a lot so the blonde ends up with a different inner vest.
The road becomes increasingly cold, and inclined, so much so that at one point Kiri has to carry the horses uphill.
“I think we’re here,” said Bakugou as his horse paused at the sight of the great snowy mountain that lay ahead. They were greeted with a bird’s eye view of the city of hvíta (city of white).
“Oh yayyyy. Thank goodness, I rather have my ass pounded by you than by this stupid horse.” Denki said as he moved toward the mountain to get a better look.
There is a towering stone palace at the edge of the mountains. It hugs the smaller civilian housing with its walls barricading the city.
The palace is imposing, stone grey and thick-walled, accentuated with ornate wood and stone carvings at several intervals. It felt larger than life, yet not alienating normal human proportions. Yes the walls were tall, but the windows indicate the short ceiling height. Most of the windows were tinted with various beautiful hues that reflected colored lights in the snow around it.
The water bodies that were visible, the ponds and even the fountains, glistened blue and Katsuki could feel its power from up here. He wasn’t sure if he had ever seen water so pure and vibrant. How is it still liquid when it’s freezing here?
There must be magic in these mountains as they say; the surrounding area seen is all and all green and rich with life. Under snow and ice, there was grass, and greenery. Kirishima could not comprehend how.
Katsuki took a deep breath, a hint of clean linen, rain, and jasmine filled his senses. The scent etches itself in his mind.
“fuck me, it’s freezing.” Denki complained, his lithe body shivered causing his horse to totter a bit.
Present mic looked at the scene, solemn and nostalgic. It has been a long time since the last time he was here. This town is still as beautiful, still as cold as before.
Mic lets out quite sigh, before directing their way to the town.
“okay kiddos, on your best behaviors'. The food will be bland.. blandish... but it’s fine cause no one does desert better than the hvíta. No talking or doing dirty stuff out public, they find sex scandalous. Most of the royals are fine I think, a bit ignorant but not that bad. Enji is a category of his own. The nobles are shitty money laundering bastards, and they smell like ball sacks, please keep in mind that. The key is to breathe through your mouth.”
Bakugou scoffed, “Geez just shut it.”
Present mic smiled sly, “don’t say I didn’t warn you”
“hin friðsælu fjöll verða alltaf falleg, en óttast það þar sem það gefur styrk til að lama þig, tortíma þér”
“the quite mountains will always be beautiful, but fear it as it possesses strength to cripple you, destroy you.”
When they arrive at the main entrance gate of the city, they come across lots of people. And by a lot they mean hundreds to thousands. The line is longer than the giant serpents of amazon.
With the line so long, Katsuki fears they’ll not be able to get in today, or tomorrow with the pace the line seems to be moving. The people were chatting, eating, sitting, and even drinking, all in line.
All four of the barbarians just paused and stared. Maybe this is a sign and they should just go back home, drink the poisoned waters and die.
Never have they seen such organized chaos.
“Can we just go home Kats? Please. My legs are killing me. and I don’t want to deal whatever this is.” Katsuki slaps Denki’s ass to shut him.
Just then, a winged man comes up to them.
“Sir Yamada.”
Mic’s face brighten upon seeing the stranger. “Hawks!!! It’s been a while man.” He pulls the shorter into an embrace.
They converse in native northern tongue, while the rest stare dumbly. Behind Hawks is a hooded guy at a respectable distance. A bunch of the other guards seem to be guarding this stranger.
The dude seems to be listening along what they were saying. Katsuki can tell with the hidden appearance and everything- this man is some one important. Their posture only tells more to it, upright and straight, not a hint of stiffness though. The robes that cover him also look different compared to the rest
The only feature visible are their lips, pink and plump. Very attractive set of lips, Katsuki decides.
Katsuki gets a whiff of clean linen and jasmine: And he moves closer, an instinct innate to him, he pulls the hood, uncovering uniformly split white and red hair and a pretty face with different eye colors.
There is silence-
His aid, the guard, and the stranger process the situation. The hooded stranger too seems to take a back for a moment before he hurriedly covers his hair back.
Hawks hurriedly moves to stand between an enraged guard and the barbarian, stopping the guard who is trying to maul Katsuki.
“You really are a barbarian. No concept of consent gets in your mind, does it” the guard has a foul smelling breath, Katsuki decides.
“Hey don’t be an ass, he didn’t do anything too bad.” Denki protests, moving closer to Katsuki. Kirishima was faster, planting himself in front of their chief.
“too bad?? Anything bad? You insolent savages, you dare come to our land and touch our prince in whatever way-” the guard’s voice climbs before it is cut off by a much smoother one.
“hætta”
“Stop.”
The dual hair man, moves to pull the guard who looked red and all but really to burst.
“No need for such disarray Sir Tomo. He didn’t really touch me.” the prince calmly states. Katsuki wants to look at his face again.
“You don’t know how this goes your Highness, you have to put these people in their place. You and the queen have the same weak kind heart. These people are here to create a spectacle out of our hospitality.” It was very odd to witness a guard (probably a noble one) scold a prince like that.
“Tomo you are crossing your line.” Hawk hisses at the guard.
“You will not experience my kind side if you continue with your nonsense. The only one starting a spectacle is you, so kindly excuse yourself before I end up doing something that could harm your future and your family’s.” The prince’s voice doesn’t waver. Words are stern, but spoken unwaveringly, with no emotions, no anger.
The guard still, growing more red but terrified more so this time. Hawks whispers something and he moves away towards the gates.
Present mic takes this opportunity to speak up. “My prince, I’m extremely sorry, I should have warned my companion about this.” He pushes the blonde’s head down to a bow. Bakugou not expecting it, lets out a curse.
“He and I both would like to apologize.”
Bakugou peeks at the prince, taking in his feature and that scar, “damn that’s worse than I thought”
Denki and Kirishima rush to bow, after mic gives them a nasty glare. A light blush in both their cheeks.
“Please Stop. The ruler of a great nation as yours should not be bowing mindlessly.”
Bakugou jerks his head to look directly at the prince. Surprised and shamed to have to bow to someone over literally nothing.
“Tell yourself that princess, getting told off by a mere guard.” Bakugou all but growled. Kirishima and Present mic cover their faces, ‘not again’ they both simultaneously think.
“Excuse me” the prince sounded baffled.
“Yeah you are excused.” Bakugou claps back. Denki stops a giggle.
The prince stays silent for a moment. Then he speaks again, voice void of previous frustration, rehearsed greeting, “You will be lead to your quarters by Sir Hawks here. Welcome to hvíta fegurð, I’m happy you are here on the occasion of my sister’s happiest day. I hope that you enjoy your stay. I will take my leave now.”
He turns back and proceed to leave, but Katsuki is tired and hunger and he would like to get done with all this nonsense soon, “I want an audience with King Enji.”
When the prince turns to face him he adds, “As soon as possible.”
The prince eyes the barbarian, dismissively, “He is rather busy at the moment, if you hadn’t noticed his only daughter is getting married.”
Bakugou feels all the tiredness and attraction toward the prince disappear with snap. He marches towards the prince, fast. And before Hawks, Mic, or the prince can intervene, he grabs the prince by the collar and pulls.
They have a little less than 3 inches height difference, but the prince crouched down a bit, stunned.
“Listen here you peppermint bitch, You better get me a meeting with your dear papa fixed, because my people are dying because of him”, he squishes the other’s face with one hand grasp. Light sparks pop against the prince's face, and he winces slightly.
“Did you also end up frying your brains off when you got your face fucked up, because if you know anything about how your daddy has fucked up his birth nation, then you know what I’m talking about? So get your coddled ass back there and fix a meeting, you fuck face”
Present mic tries to separate two of them, by pulling on Katsuki, while Hawks tries to remove the grip on the dual hair’s clothes. Katsuki’s holding on too tight though, so they fail.
“You’re terrible with names.” it is all the prince says before freezing the barbarian chief to the ground.